I am Legend
by WilsonTheStoryWriter
Summary: Rebirth si fic. Might span multiple universes eventually. Every legend has a start, this is mine.
1. Chapter 1

"Speach"

_Thoughts/speaking to self_

_"Someone else talking in head"_

**Chaper 1 **

I was scared, scared of what was happening because i had never experienced anything like this before. I was alone, the ever expanding space all around me. I could feel nothing, not the grass beneath my feet, not the soft breeze that was kissing my face, nor the ever present weariness i had felt sense i was a kid that accompanied me like an old friend.

I know what happened, i had died. Live fast and die hard as i loved to say and even now i stand by my words. Don't dwell on the past, live for now, live for the moment, live for what is about to happen because you never know when it will all end. But that does not shake the fear i felt because my judgment is now and i knew i wasn't innocent. I had done things i was not proud of but i did them so other didn't have too.

I mulled over my thoughts, my entire life going through my head, some memories bringing tears to my eyes, other making me boil with uncontrollable rage. But it all came down to this moment, the moment where my fear was washed away by the knowledge that i accept everything i did. It was at that moment that someone else appeared.

"You accepted rather quickly you know." They stated in a beautifully angelic voice.

If someone's voice could turn me on it would be hers...

"Based on the fact i died and you are making a comment about my inner thoughts and feelings i'm going to assume you know all about my past so could you cut to the chase please. I would like to know which corner of hell i'm going to reside in for the rest of eternity." I stated simply with a resigned undertone.

She simply giggled and let me stew in my thoughts for another few moments.

It's really awkward when you get turned on by the person who is going to be condemning you to hell.

"I ,in fact, do not know all about your past and inner thoughts. I am simply a messenger and have been waiting for you to be ready so i could come."

Well now i feel like an asshole even more than usual.

"Well then what message do you bring to me, if i may inquire?" i asked.

She looked me over, as if she was sizing me up.

"I'm here to grant you a wish." She stated simply, looking at, gauging my reaction.

I tilted my head to the side and raised a single eyebrow.

"So uh, why are you really here?" i asked immediately, not believing for a second that's why she came here.

"I am here to grant you a wish." She said with a slightly annoyed undertone.

"Cool, i get it's a joke so can we move past that please?" I replied.

"Do i need to beat it into your head that i'm here to grant you a wish for your good deeds while you were alive." She asked sarcastically.

"Yes." Was my simple reply.

Suddenly something hit my head, sending me face first into the dirt. There was no pain but it was uncomfortable to have a face full of grass and dirt. I got up and brushed myself off. I glanced at the woman who now was holding a baseball bat in her hand and had an annoyed yet smug look on her face.

"You believe me now or do you need another hit?" She question.

"I think i believe you now." I said slowly.

"Good, now what's your wish?" She asked.

"What's the catch? What are the rules? What can't i do?" I questioned, wanting to know the limits of this wish.

"Well, the first rule is you can't wish for more wishes, the second is you can't wish to be a god or some all powerful being of any sort, and lastly you can't wish for someone else's death. Besides that most things are ok." She replied happily.

I looked her over real quick, my thoughts deep in the gutter. She had to be the most beautiful woman i had ever seen and just so happened to be wearing some very revealing robes.

It didn't take her even a second to respond to my unasked question. "No."

I just shrugged," Fair enough, though you didn't specify and im betting more than just me has had the same thought."

"Few good men ever get this opportunity. Those that do tend to have other things in mind or loved ones they wished to be with." she stated flatly.

"Well then can i ask what most who get the opportunity do after their wish?" I wondered.

"Depends on their wish, but most end up spending their afterlife with their lost loved ones or waiting for them in the afterlife. Other choose to be reborn so they can have a chance to do good things once again." She said.

"So i can make a wish and choose to be reborn?" I asked very interested.

Getting a wish and having the ability to be reborn. I already know what i want to do in that case.

"Indeed you can." She replied.

"Well then i wish to have a natural talent for fighting and manipulating energies that stays with me after i am reborn and each time im reborn after that if im reborn again after the first time." I said.

She nodded her head then seemed to focus for a moment before the emotions on her face shifted. They ranged from slight surprise to frustration, as if she was talking to someone and they gave her information she wished she had before. Her face ended with a slight frown, before she spoke. "Your wish is redundant, pick something else."

"Can i wish to be more talented and gifted?" i asked hopefully.

"No." She stated flatly.

"Damn." I stated back.

I have no idea what to wish for now. I don't want to ask for anything too strong or ridiculous because it would make my next life boring.

Suddenly i had an idea. She clearly noticed too as she seemed to perk up slightly.

"I know what i want." I said happily.

"I wish my dick was larger." I said enthusiastically.

Her deadpan stare accompanied by silence told me all i needed to know but she still said her answer.

"No."

"Ahhhhh.Your not making this easy on me." I groaned out in frustration.

"Can you just like read my mind, look through my past and surprise me with something? That way you know it will be useful or something i want but can't think of because it's really obscure and i forgot about it long time ago.

She seemed to contemplate what to do before she nodded her head.

"I can do that. But i need to have physical contact with you for it to work." She said.

"I mean if you wanted to get with me you should have just asked." I said cheekily.

I suddenly found myself face first in the ground with her had on the back of my head. Then this weird feeling of someone touching my brain washed over me. It was so weird and different that i didn't know how to react until it was done.

I slowly got up trying to comprehend the feeling. I opened my mouth to speak when i noticed she was now completely naked.

Damn if i haven't died and gone to heaven.

She smirked, clearly liking my speechless reaction.

"So uh, what brought this about?" I asked.

"Think of it as a bonus." She said simply. I didn't question it.

She led me over to a bed that appeared out of nowhere and what followed was the single best moment in my life.

The experience of being born again was interesting, to say the least. I was only "conscouse" for a few moments at a time and the rest was just me sleeping basically while a different consciousness took over. I got snippets of what was going on around me but that was it. It wasn't until my fourth birthday that i became fully conscious. It was early in the morning, the sun had yet to rise and i was panting, as if i had run a marathon and i felt sore and battered all over, an ache deep in my bones that didn't want to go away.

"You always wanted a challenge, a way to prove yourself that you are the best, so here is your chance." A very familiar angelic voice said inside my head.

So then where am i?

"Look out the window." She replied simply.

I looked around the room i was in and found the window opposite of where my bed was. I quickly noticed my room was extremely small. The sun was just barely starting to rise and in the distance i could see a cliff that had four very distinct face carved into it.

Well god damn, ain't that a hell of a sight to see.

"I suppose you could see it that way." She said.

There was a comfortable silence that filled the air as i got my bearings and calmed down. I did some stretching and movements to loosen up my muscles and get used to being four again. I already knew i was going to be running into a lot of things and tripping over myself.

"Now before you tackle the world i have two things to say to you. First is s gift, this is what i'm giving you as your gift.

As i sat back down on my bed a tanto appeared in my lap. It had a simple black sheath and was about a foot and a half long. I drew it silently, admiring its craftsmanship.

"This blade will always come back to you when you summon it and can be split into two identical blades. It will let you easily chanel chakra through the blades and it will never betray you. You are able to make it go into a pocket dimension at will so you don't have to carry it all the time and it can be in your hand ready to use at a moments notice.

I took a few practice swings, loving the feel and balance of the blade. Then, deciding to test out it's summon ability, i set it across the room from me and then summoned it from my bed. I let out a startled yelp as the blade instantaneously appeared in my hand.

That's so badass.

A shit eating grin was on my face as i thought about it disappearing and reappearing in my hand. The instantaneous disappearance and reappearance of the blade made me fall in love with it already.

"Now for the second thing. The moment you unlock your chakra you will be given a gift and disease. Your chakra will never stop regenerating making your chakra coils constantly get bigger and your chakra recovery faster. But you will have a limited time to find a cure for the disease that comes with the chakra regeneration. It will affect your overall health and your condition will deteriorate over time until your dead. Good luck.

With those parting words i felt her presence in my mind leave. It was weird though as it wasn't something i could feel until after she left. Her words were left imprinted on my brain but that just added to the challenge of living in a world where people called themselves god and had power near no one could match.

Looks like this shit show is just getting started.

I got up out of bed, letting my blade return to it's pocket dimension. My room was very spartan, walls were brown wood, unpainted, and there was only a dresser next to my bed. I could cross it in about three steps. I walked over to the door and opened it to find a long hallway with many other doors lining it. I could hear some people talking down the hall so i ventured out to find the source. I found myself in a large family room where a three adults were talking.

Saya

The name of one of the adults pops into my head and i quickly identified her as the orphanage patron. She is the one who noticed me and beckoned me over.

"Today is your luck day Arakan! These kind people want to adopt you!" She said excitedly, a bright smile on her face.

I look at the two mentioned people.

"Hi Arakan, my name is Meiko and this is my husband Kenta." She said smiling. They were as average as you could get, brown hair, brown eyes, average build, slightly tanned skin. They were the kind of people who blended into the crowd without trying and something about it made me feel uncomfortable. Almost as if they were too average.

In response I just smile and gave them a small wave.

"He isn't much of a talker but he is really good at following directions. He has never acted out before and is always well behaved. " Saya informed my to be parents.

After that bit I just tuned out. I went through the motions of getting the few belongings that I had and then left with my new parents. They sat me on their cart and told me to sit quite. On the way out of the village they said we were going to their new home in the land of lightning. Sense I knew the trip was gonna take a while I just quietly sat there and meditated, trying to unlock my chakra.

It was three days into our journey that it happened. I was focusing in on myself half asleep, half bored out of my fucking mind when I found the energie locked away inside of me. I mentally reached out and grasped it, guiding it through my body. The feeling was extremely foreign but that is something that would change with time. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed my parents subtly glancing at me as I used my chakra. This immediately set off warning bells in my mind but I had no idea what to do. If they could sense me using chakra then they were clearly shinobi but there was nothing i could do about it.

It's really fishy that I was picked out of all the kids in the orphanage. When I first met them they didn't seems to have anyone in mind but when they saw me they instantly made their decision. Who am I really and what made them come for me?

My thought were broken when I felt a sharp stinging pain in my head before unconsciousness took me.

I woke to someone kicking me in my side. I let out a groan as I took in my surroundings. The first things to note was the cold dark room I was in and the angry looking man standing above me. Next thing I noticed was this deep ache in my bones that was damn near mind numbing.

"Get up kid, it's time for breakfast." He stated gruffly.

I got myself off the floor slowly, stretching out my sore muscles and trying to get the kinks out of my body from being on the ground. I rubbed my arms together and started to shiver as it was really cold. Before i could even open my mouth to ask for a coat a piece of clothing was thrown at my face.

"Put that on, I don't need you freezing to death before you show if your worth anything." He said.

I quickly put on the coat he gave me. It was made of old worn leather and it was staved off most the chill but I was still cold. I followed the man out of the room and down a few holloways while I worked on circulating chakra through my system to warm me up. It was a long walk and by the end of it I figured out that if I didn't want to have chakra exhaustion all the time I would have to only flash my chakra through my system. And if I wanted it to be effective I needed much better chakra control and for best results learn how to change it to fire nature. The ache went away as I used my chakra giving me an almost euphoric releaf.

So my chakra regeneration gift is already in effect then. Having my chakra coils too full really sucks so I have to make sure I either learn to use chakra while I sleep, figure out a seal of some sort, or just use enough chakra before I sleep so I don't get over full reserves by morning.

"Be careful about using your chakra kid, your gonna need it later." The man stated, interrupting my thoughts.

A few more moments of silent walking later we came to a room full of a lot of people. The age ranged from about my age to full adults.

"This is the mess hall where you will eat your meals. On the far side is the serving line. Get your food, eat fast, and follow all instruction that follow if you want to survive long." He left after saying his part.

I quickly made my way over to the back of the line, ignoring everyone around me. I wasn't in the line long before I felt someone shove me, sending me to the floor.

"Look at this boys, we got a newbie here. Let's give him a warm welcome!" A young snide voice said. I got up and turned to see a bunch of boys just a few years older than me blocking any way out. Their leader was in front of the rest almost in my face at this point ready to cave in my skull if i'm reading him right.

Before he could react my fist was flying to his throat and I made my tanto appear in my hand upon contact. His expression changed to one of shock as blood flowed from his neck, drenching me in a warm sticky coating. I frowned as he fell to the floor.

It doesn't feel good to kill but I don't fuck around.

The other boys around me stood there in shocked silence, unable to move. I ignored them and moved up in line, grabbing a bowl full of slop then finding a seat by myself. I heard the sound of some people bickering about having to get rid of the boys body. I did my best to ignore the commotion, it wasn't my problem anymore.

The first bite of slop almost made me vomit and so did the rest of the bowl but I knew I needed food so I shoved it down my throat. Vomit like food is better than no food. I was almost finished with my food when someone sat down beside me.

"If you keep flashing your chakra like that your not gonna last long. Chakra exhaustion will kill you faster than you think." They stated.

I looked to my left to see a man wearing a similar leather coat to mine. He appeared to be about twenty years of age and had blood red hair and distinct violet eyes.

"Good to know. Got any tips for staying warm then because it's rather cold here." I replied.

"A few…"

I waited a few moments to see if he would elaborate, finishing my food in the process.

"Care to elaborate?" I asked.

"You don't talk nor act like your four years old." he said simply.

"Im four years old?" I wondered out loud.

"You don't know your own age?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Nope, no idea who i am. Just woke up a few days ago in an orphanage. Not a god damn clue about anything." I stated simply.

Truth without any details. Gotta love being vague yet informative without straight up lying.

"Well that's interesting. And to answer one of your questions, you appear to be about four years old." he replied.

"That's good to know. So may i ask why you bothered to come sit by me?" I asked.

"Not every day you see a four year old slit another kids throat with a knife that appears and disappears instantaneously at a moments notice. To put it simply you peaked my interest." He said.

"So then are you still interested?" I asked.

"More than you can imagine." He replied.

"I've got a really good imagination." i said back.

"Oh really? Can you imagine what would happen to you if say the kid you killed happened to have a mentor that is very angry that his protege was killed by some newbie." He asked.

"Unfortunately so." I muttered thinking about it.

"Well then why don't you find me later, that is if you live." He said as he got up and left.

Well fuck...

I wasn't left alone for long as I suddenly found myself flying across the room and impacting back first against a stone wall. The impact jarred me, sending the air out of my lungs, and pain clouded my mind, making me unable to properly brace myself as I hit the floor. I was hit in the ribs, knocking the little air my oxygen starved kungs had right back out. All I knew was pain and one more hit to my head and unconsciousness took me.

I slowly woke to the a warm feeling that was numbing the pain that I felt. It was moving through my body, starting from a center point on my chest. I reached out with my chakra and felt it.

Medical jutsu.

I grasped onto the feeling of it, memorizing how the foreign chakra seemed to move, react, and behave. After another few minutes of it the chakra feed stopped so I opened my eyes to see where I was.

A quick look told me I was in a rather plain medical room, many beds lined the walls but I was currently the only one in the room. There was a woman standing over me, looking at me expectantly.

"Well how do you feel?" She finally asked.

"Like someone threw me into a wall, kicked me in the ribs, sent me flying into another wall, and then curb stomped my head." I replied. She raised an eyebrow at my answer.

"Oddly specific." She said before helping me sit up and wrapping some bandages around my chest. It hurt but not as much as I thought it would. Medical jutsu was amazing.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

"Only a few hours." She replied.

She didn't seem particularly talkative so I didn't ask any more questions. She finished wrapping my chest before giving me some instructions.

"Walk out the room, take a left and follow the hallway down till you reach the courtyard. That's where you will be training for the foreseeable future." She said then got up and left the room.

I slowly stood up, getting a feel for how fucked up I was. I had to hold onto the bed as the world started to spin slightly and I felt lightheaded. Once it passed I slowly made my way towards the door, only making it there after stumbling my way through the room and running into various objects.

I left the room and took a left as instructed and soon found myself facing a large courtyard like area that had a lot of people training in different ways. It took me about ten minutes to find the man that I had spoken to earlier. He was doing handstands on top of a thin wooden pole.

"You ever fall?" I asked as I walked up to him.

"Not anymore." He said simply as he let himself down, a light sheen of sweat coated his body. He wasn't wearing his coat anymore which made me realise i don't have mine. I involuntarily shivered as a cold breeze made itself known.

"I got your coat kid but you won't be want it for a bit. We got some training to do." He answered my unasked question.

"I have a concussion and at least a few bruised ribs, I doubt any training is going to do me any good right now." I stated flatly.

"Sure it will. It will start building your pain tolerance and strengthen your willpower." He replied cheerily.

"Well fuck me then, where do i start!" I said sarcastically.

"That's the spirit. Now run to that tree and back as fast as you can until you can't run anymore." He said. The tree he mentioned was about 50 yards away.

I took off at a light jog and got faster and faster, grunting through the dulled pain of my ribs and head. I stumble and fell more than once but I just got back up and continued on running. The pain grew worse the longer I ran and it wasn't long until I really wanted to just lay down and die.

Every time I stopped without falling I was pelted with a pebble, making me keep on running until finally my oxygen deprived brain decided it was nap time mid stride.

I woke up aching and hurting worse than before but at least I was now covered by my coat.

"Not bad kid, you got a lot too improve on but for only being four years old you did good." He said.

"How long did I run for?" I asked.

"About fifteen minutes." He answered.

"You sure? It seemed like so much longer than that." I replied in disbelief.

"Yes i'm sure, now get up and let's get started on some chakra exercises. First off i'm gonna have you walk up this tree without using your hands. All you have to do is chanel chakra to your feet as you walk." He informed me, pointing at the tree next to him showing me the tree he wanted me to use. It was a great big tree, standing some hundred feet tall at least.

I didn't move and quickly found myself flying face first towards the tree. Luckily I was able to brace myself before I hit, making the impact much less jarring but it did end up scraping my hands. I picked myself up off the ground where i landed as quickly as I could so I wouldn't get tossed again and got right to work.

It took me a few hours to be able to get the chakra amount right to just be able to stick my foot on the tree without slipping or blasting off. During that time I noticed many people being taken away by guards with some returning looking a bit ragged and others not returning at all.

"Can you explain what this place is?" I asked finally after many hours of mind numbingly boring chakra exercises.

"I suppose so…" he left it off there. I patiently waited until he was ready to speak. I sat down to take a break and watched him finish his exercise he was doing.

"I guess I will start with me name. My name is Uzumaki Ashina." He started off as he sat down next to me. "This place we are at doesn't have a specific name, but the prisoners have come to call it the arena. This has been an underground fighting arena for decades now. There are multiple secs in the arena with ours being one of the largest. Each sec is owned by someone or a group of people. They obtain people by kidnaping them, taking in criminals and missing nin. Nowadays they prefer to kidnap younger kids who have potential which are found by their scouts. When the kids arrive they are generally picked up by a veteran and trained to compete in the death matches. Now despite its name not all matches are to the death though the risk is just as high. If you win your match you are rewarded, if you lose you are punished, simple as that. The veterans are rewarded if they pick up a student and that student does well. Here in the sanctuary is where we train. We spend almost all day here and the wardens don't bother us unless we cause unnecessary commotion or it's time for your fight. You are given a full days notice before every fight." I went through all the information in my head once he finished. There was a lot to process but it basically came down to one thing. I was now apart of an illegal underground fight club where I had to win to survive.

God damn this is fucked. Not even a few hours into this life and i'm taken by some people who want to train me to fight for other people's entertainment. The shit show is in full swing now and i already basically got one foot in the grave.

The rest of the day went by rather blandly, with me training till i dropped and Ashina carrying me to the mess hall and then to our slightly nicer than average cell that we would now share. Apparently a perk of having an apprentice and or being really good in the arena is a slightly nicer cell that you don't have to share. Ours had basic matts that were better than the floor and kept in our body heat slightly better than not having anything.

The next year went by surprisingly fast. Everyday was the same. Wake up, meditate with Ashina, learn more about chakra theory or whatever else he thought I needed to know, eat, physically train, eat, train with chakra, more physical training combined with using chakra, eat dinner, sleep. Oh and don't forget the many many breaks in between workouts because i can only do so much training being so young.

I was stretching this morning, thinking about my latest lesson in chakra theory when suddenly i thought about senjutsu.

"Hey Ashina-sensei." I said his name to get his attention.

"Yes Arakan?" He asked.

"I was thinking about chakra and remembered you mentioning natural energy. I was wondering what it was and how it's connected to chakra." I asked.

"Well, to start natural energy is basically like natures chakra and is located everywhere in the world. It is more potent in some areas than others. Natural energy can be drawn in and combined with your own chakra to enhance yourself and your attacks. It also gives the user other boosta like faster healing, increased durability, and near unmatched sensory abilities. It is an incredibly difficult task to use natural energy and become a sage. So difficult in fact that i have never seen more than a single living sage at any given time in the world." He informed me.

So most of my knowledge about chakra and natural energy was basic yet solid info and all this theory i've learned so far has made me understand chakra even more.

"Are there any long term effects of natural energy? Like if you continuously had some running through your chakra coils would it have any effects?" I wondered.

"Well it is possible that it could have some long term effects. It's said that the great toad sage is thousands of years old because he mastered the art of senjutsu better than anyone else." He stated.

I mused over my thoughts for a few minutes.

The great toad sage is the one who taught hagoromo about senjutsu and he is still alive today thousands of years later. Hagoromo had so much chakra and was so skilled his chakra gave naruto and sasuke incredible boosts because even though he was just a chakra construct really. So clearly there is a way to master senjutsu better than what anyone else has done before if the sage of six paths can live in through his spirit.

"Could you make a seal that runs off my excess chakra that would constantly draw in natural chakra and have an extremely small amount constantly flowing through chakra coils? This would mean I wouldn't ever have to worry about having to much chakra, I could get potential boosts from the natural energy, and slowly become a sage due to my constant exposure to natural energy. I could have a better mastery over senjutsu than anyone else before with even more potential benefits in the long run." I said hopefully.

"I supposed that could be possible." Ashina said more to himself, already lost in thought about the possibility and potential of such a seal.

Over the next six months I trained as normal while Ashina worked hard at making this seal, going as far to use shadow clones each day to get more done. It was on another morning that Ashina seemed to have some results.

"This seal here will be work off your chakra and will turn off automatically if you ever run really low on chakra so you don't die of chakra exhaustion. It draws in natural energy and will trickle a miniscule amount if natural energy through your coils. This should let you get a feel for senjutsu and possibly give you some long term benefits." He stated showing me a seal on a page. It was incredibly large and complex. I couldn't even hope to comprehend what i was seeing.

"This is just the main seal, there are many additions that I will draw out when I place the seal on you. Now are you ready for this, i'll have to tattoo it into your skin which will be painful. But when I activate it, it will sear itself deep into your skin and attach itself to your chakra network. It will be incredibly painful." He said.

"What's a little pain for the long term benefits?" I asked rhetorically. I rethought my statement as I screamed my throat raw from pain before O passed out.

I woke slowly, sleep clung to me as I tried to open my eyes to the brightly lit room of the med bay.

"Glad your awake, how do you feel?" A familiar voice asked.

I opened my mouth to respond but my throat felt as if i had swallowed a bunch of sand and hurt like nothing else. She quickly noticed my predicament and handed me a cup filled with some liquid. I took a few sips, realising it was some tea of sorts. It took me a few minutes to down the cuo but when i did i felt infinitely better than before.

"Can you teach me how to make that tea?" I asked.

"Sure, it's rather simple. Now how do you feel?" She asked.

"Sore, my throat aches a lot, and i have this weird feeling through my whole body but besides that i feel alright." I replied.

"Good, Ashina told me that was to be expected. Now come over here and i'll teach you how to make the tea." She stated.

I got up and walked over to where she was. The tea was a simple blend of a few key ingredients and when mixed in a certain amount they create a calming tea that tastes good, soothes a person, and gets them to relax more.

I made another batch of tea for practice before she sent me back to my room. I had no idea what time it was but i was tired so i had no complaints. When i got there Ashina was there, meditating on his bed.

"Welcome back, how are you feeling?" He asked me.

"Sore, tired, and a bit achy." I replied.

"To be expected. Sleep for now and in the morning we shall start some new chakra exercises." He said.

I nodded my head in response and flopped down onto my bed. I was asleep the moment my head hit my pillow.

**A/N: Thank you for reading my story. updates will be sporadic as i work 12 hours a day 5-6 days a week. If you have any comments or suggestions feel free to leave a comment or pm me. im open to new ideas. There are probably many mistakes so sorry about that, I try to clean it up as I go.****Extra info:****Sage seal - draws in small amounts of nature chakra that is stored in the seal and then distributed through the person's chakra coils. A small amount of it is absorbed into the person's body with the rest being released back into the environment. This gives long terms benefits of being exposed to natural energy such as increased durability, faster chakra regeneration, larger chakra coils, better durability, and increased sensory abilities. End goal is to be able to be a perfect sage and be able to draw in natural energy while moving.****If you wanted to get a good idea of what Arakan looks like.****Arakan has raven black hair with crimson streaks. It shines crimson in the sun but looks pitch black at night. His eyes are golden and he has lightly tanned skin. When fully grown he will be 6ft 3" broad shouldered and built more on the lean side, the perfect balance between power and speed. He has many scars all over his body from heavy training and his many fights.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto

**5 years later, Arakan age 10**

"Remember, the most important thing about this is impressing the audience. If you lose, go out with a bang, if you win, make sure it's showy. The more you impress the audience, the better off you will be." Ashinas words echoed in my mind as I stood in a large circle of people, about to fight a free for all arena match.

"Hajime!" A voice called out, signaling the start of the fight.

I jumped back as everyone started attacking each other. Two shadow clones appeared in a puff of smoke and immediately started going through a series of hand seals while I gathered large amounts of chakra in each hand.

Make it showy he said. Go out with a bang he said. Let's show them what i'm capable of.

"Fire style:Grand Fireball jutsu! Wind style:Roaring winds!" My clones said in unison after performing the necessary hand seals. The massive fireball amped up by the wind jutsu smack right into the middle of the arena where most of the competitors were. The explosion caused from it sent me skidding back a bit and singed my arms. I ignored the resulted chaos and continued to gather chakra. Once I had enough chakra built up in my hands and forearms, I started to channel chakra to the rest of my body to amp up my speed.

Lightning style: Amp

As the smoke cleared I heard the survivors coughing and wondering who had cause the explosion. I didn't let them wonder long as I changed the chakra in my hands to lightning nature.

Lightning style: Lightning hands.

My hands now crackled and glowed with lightning as I took off sprinting for the nearest opponent. He was too slow to dodge my lightning powered knife hand to his throat, the explosion of gore painted the wall and ground. He was dead before he even hit the ground and so were the rest. I went around taking out any survivors with the brutal efficiency that drove me from my last life powered by my flashy chakra move. I used far more chakra than I needed too so it would look cooler and it allowed me to cut through any resistance the survivors put up even easier. I had no kind of defence but I didn't need to defend if my enemies were dead. Unfortunately there were quite a few attacks that did end up landing because I didn't bother dodging, instead favoring to taking out my opponents faster.

Before I knew it I was panting in the middle of the scorched blood stained arena, the only one left standing. The brutal takedown of my competition was my plan to hopefully show that I was not someone to mess with. Without looking up I limped my way over the the exit exhaustion clawing at me, ready to get out of this arena. As I walked I heard the gradual crescendo of clapping from the audience and by the time I reached the exit gate the hoots and cheers were near deafening.

"Who are you kid?" A booming voice asked from amongst the crowd.

I paused for a moment as the gate rose, turning my head with a smirk making itself known on my face. There was some blood dripping down my face from a kunai I didn't bother to avoid causing my smirk to turn bloody.

"I am legend." I stated arrogantly and then continued on into the tunnel leaving the bloody arena behind me.

I grimaced. God damn did I sound stupid. That sounded way better in my head. Probably should have never left my thoughts too.

I only barely made it a step into the courtyard before the exhaustion I had been pushing through finally caught up to me as I fell face first into the soft ground. I had never used so much chakra and powerful techniques back to back in short succession. I wasn't close to being out of chakra but the physical and mental strain of using the techniques was extreme. The deep burning nerve pain I felt primarily in my hands told me that I still had much to work on. I felt ashina's presence as unconsciousness took me.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I woke up some time later in the infirmary, my hands wrapped, and feeling sore all over.

"I see what we really need to work on now." I heard Ashina say.

"I have the chakra for all the ninjutsu I could ever want but my body cant take the strain of using it." I stated, voicing my thought on the subject.

"Indeed that is correct, which is exactly what we will be working on from now on." He paused for a moment, taking a sip from his tea before continuing," For now just do some stretching and then we will work on practicing your medical ninjutsu."

I nodded my head to acknowledge his orders and got up to start stretching. After half an hour of wonderful stretching, I followed him to the courtyard where I went from person to person, healing the bruises, scratches, and cuts they had to practice my medical ninjutsu in the best way possible, by using it.

A few hours later I had finished and was feeling the strain. It didn't take a whole lot of chakra but the control and concentration it took was pushing the limits of my abilities. I sat down and started meditating to calm myself down and get more intune with my own chakra. I did this everyday to get a better grasp on my chakra and try and get a feel for the nature chakra that was flowing from my seal and into my coils. It has taken me years just to be able to distinguish the natural energy from my own chakra before it was absorbed by my coils. I wasn't able to do anything other than that but it was a start.

Ashina had just finished his own exercises by the time I finished meditating.

"Have you made any progress with natural energy?" He asked.

"Not much, I can tell natural energy from my chakra but that's about it. It's damn near impossible to be able to control or use." I stated.

"That's alright, it will come with time. For now just make some clones to practice while we spar." Ashina stated. I made ten clones to practice my chakra control, nature transformation, and work with natural energy. With that done I made my way over to where Ashina was to start the spar, ready for the beatdown that was soon to occur.

The first hour was spent on technique and finesse, making sure my movements did not waste energy and were as precise as they could possibly be. From there I took a break and meditated for half an hour then went into strength training. An hour of punching a tree, kicking said tree, and doing various other exercises to strengthen my body had me exhausted. Ashina let me take another half hour break to rest before we started on some chakra theory and then onto seals. I was rather limited in the amount of time I could physically train if I wanted to actually benefit from it so a good portion of my day was spent on seals and other general knowledge. I ended the day with endurance training, arguably the most important part for me because it didn't matter if I had all this chakra if I didn't have the stamina to use it.

By the time we finished it was dinner time so I quickly ate with Ashina then went to bed. I was so exhausted the moment my head hit my pillow I was asleep.

The following morning Ashina decided it was time for more seals to be drawn onto my body. This time he was adding some 'basic' healing seals. It would help my muscles heal faster so I could continuously train but also could do more like help me from bleeding out if I had a major wound and keep me alive long enough to get proper medical attention. It was nowhere near naruto's unnaturally fast healing rate but it was a boost nevertheless.

"So why are you only now putting these seals on me?" I asked him.

"Because I had to figure out how to get them to work properly so you wouldn't get random horrible mutations or tumors growing throughout your entire body along with getting it to work in conjunction with the seal you already have. The seal itself is already incredibly complex but having it work with your sage seal and neither affecting each other makes it infinitely more complex." He stated knowingly.

"So you didn't think of it until recently and didn't want to tell me about it till it was done." I stated flatly with a small lift in my tone to signify a partial question to my statement.

"I have no idea what your talking about." He said dismissively. An hour later and he was done making the seals.

"These seals work off the natural energy that the sage seal draws in except it won't activate until it senses your body has sustained damage and is trying to fix itself. I limited the rate at which it could heal due to the risks of amping it up more than it is." He informed me as we made our way to eat breakfast.

"What kinds of risks are we talking about." I asked curiously.

"Well the big ones I can think of are, suddenly turning to stone, mutations, tumors, random deformities, and the biggest one being sudden death." He finished casually.

"Fair enough, is there anything else I should worry about?" I asked casually.

"Not that I can think of. So eat up and let's get started, it's time I upped your training and hone in that talent you got." he said.

Breakfast was a quick affair and soon enough I found myself in the courtyard doing my stretches before I went to work. I made my ten clones to train then started off with a simple warm up that had me doing sets of pullups, push ups, and various other exercises. Three sets of these later and it was time for a quick spar with Ashina.

We stood across from each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. I learned that waiting for him to make the first move was best. As always Ashina decided he was bored of waiting and made the first move by sending a punch towards my face.

I ducked and sent out a punch of my own that was intercepted by his other hand. He grabbed onto my hand and threw me over my head. I went with the motion and ended up behind him so I sent out a kick that he turned and blocked. Before I could react he grabbed my leg and lifted me into the air where he was about to throw me again but I used my other leg to kick off his body and break his hold. I flipped back and immediately had to dodge and block a series of kicks and punches, the end of which sent me flying back from a hit right to my sternum.

Ashina didn't let up as I was left gasping for air and within a moment I was flat on my back with his fist above my face.

"Your getting better, you lasted more than a few seconds this time." He said now holding his hand out for me to grab. I took it and he hoisted me up to my feet.

"As always, thanks for the beatdown." I said half cheerfully half sarcastic.

"Anytime, maybe one day you might even last thirty seconds when im half trying." He said smugly.

"One day i'll defeat you, or at least get you to try." I replied.

"Well until that day comes, you better train harder." He stated.

I had nothing to respond with so I said nothing. I took a moment to loosen myself up and then got into a ready stance. It was time to train my reaction time, reflexes, and sensing abilities.

Ashina stood across from me, holding a few red rubber balls. And without warning he started to throw them at me. I had to either block, dodge, or reflect them back at him. Sense we were in the corner of the room he was able to bounce them off the walls and have them come at my blind side thus making me work on predicting and being able to sense the danger coming. It was painful to say the least.

After that was done I did some stretching then spent the next hour meditating. When I was done I loosened myself up and walked over to where Ashina was.

"How do you feel? Do you feel the effects of the seals?" He asked.

I didn't respond right away, instead focusing on myself and how I felt. It took me a few minutes to realised the difference from before.

"I don't feel sore or achy from the day before and the bruises from our spar are already started to heal." I stated at last.

"Sounds like the seals are working as expected then." He replied.

"So anything you want to work on specifically in the coming months?" Ashina asked.

"Yeah, I would like to start training with weapons." I said.

"Well then let's head over to the armory and find something you like." Ashina said as he headed off towards the exit. I followed him and a few short minutes later we found ourselves in the armory. It was then that a thought had just occurred to me.

"Why doesn't anyone try to break free? They have access to all kinds of weapons and all we do here is train to fight and then actually fight." I asked him as we walked the rows of weapons.

"Because those strong enough feel like freedom isn't worth being hunted for the rest of their lives and the ones who try aren't strong enough to succeed." Ashina informed me.

I mused over what ashina said while browsing the weapons. I stopped walking to look at a polearm that was resting on a rack. It was simple yet elegant in design. It had a crescent blade on each side with a spear tip in the center. I grasped the shaft and lifted it off the rack, getting a feel for it's heft before I let the wooden shaft thump against the wooden floor.

"There are no chains that will hold me back. I will escape from here." I stated firmly.

"Those are dangerous words to say around here kid." A deep gravelly voice stated from behind me.

I turned around to see a large old man with a forging apron on put some swords on a rack.

"I was born a free man and I will die a free man." I replied definitively.

"No one has ever escaped for a reason." He said in response.

"Then I'll be the legend that was the exception." I answered.

"I'll believe it when I see it." He huffed.

"Then don't die too soon old man, I'll give you something to see." I smirked at him.

He answered by laughing. "You better keep your word kid because i'd hate to see your potential go to waste." With those words said he left, going back over to where the forge was.

"Come, let's get you started on some kata's for your polearm." Ashina said walking out of the armory.

I hefted my weapon onto my shoulder and followed him out. The rest of the day was spent with me learning the few basic katas Ashina knew along with getting used to the weight and feel of my weapon.

The next few weeks that followed had me doing vastly more training training during the day. I could now handle more physical training with the seals healing me and with ashina teaching me how to draw on my chakra for energy. It was on one such afternoon that I was sparing with ashina that we were interrupted by a guard.

"You fight tomorrow kid, one on one match." He said quickly then left.

Ashina and I walked over to a nearby tree and sat down instead of continuing the spar. It was already late in the afternoon and with an upcoming match I needed all my strength and chakra. Even though I recovered fast I still wanted to take the evening easy. I spent the rest of the afternoon meditating after a short cooldown. We ate dinner silently and then went to bed right away. It was going to be a big day tomorrow and I was already incredibly nervous.

The following morning I woke to butterflies in my stomach.

My second fight will be happening soon and I have no idea what to expect. This could be my last fight and all my hard work would have gone to waste.

Ashina seemed to notice my nervousness and spoke up.

"It will be alright. This isn't a death match, there is much less chance you will die. Just show them your best and please the crowd." He said smoothly.

His words helped some but the nervous feeling I had didn't back down much. The butterflies in my stomach calmed and so did the shaking but it was still present, just like it was last time.

I suppose i'll have to learn to deal with it. I was able to calm down right before my last fight started so I know I can do it again.

Breakfast went by fast and afterwords I spent the morning meditating and doing some light exercises to prepare myself for my fight.

It wasn't long until I found myself standing across from my opponent in the arena. A calmness spread through my body that I was all too familiar with from my last life.

It's do or die time now and there ain't no time for mistakes.

My opponent was a kid a few years older than me, in his early teens if I had to guess. Just from the way he carried himself and the arrogant smirk on his face I could tell he was good, or at least experienced in winning. But I didn't let that throw me off and instead I just raised an eyebrow in a nonverbal reply.

"Hey motherfucker, you ready to dance because I'm about to throw your bitchass around this arena like it's going outta style." I taunted arrogantly. His face went from arrogant confidence to pure rage instantly. I saw his mouth open to respond but was interrupted by a guard starting the match.

He launched himself at me instantly, forcing me on the defensive right off the bat. I ducked under a flying roundhouse kick then dodged back from his follow up kick. With both feet now planted on the floor he used his fists to try and beat my face in. I dodged or blocked his attacks at the last moment, getting grazed more than I would like due to his superior speed and clear advantage in skill. Ashinas agility training was the only reason I wasn't taking direct hits.

Unfortunately for him I could clearly tell he didn't have near the stamina and raw power that I was graced with. I stepped to the side and ducked back from a kick to my face, then enhanced my chest with chakra and took his follow up kick right to my side. The hit hurt but I used that moment where he couldn't escape to throw a chakra enhanced punch right in his armpit. The blow landed and sent him reeling forcing him to rapidly back away from me to recover.

It was time to use my vastly superior chakra reserves to my advantage.

"Firestyle: Grand fireball jutsu:" I yelled out after going through the necessary hand seals. A massive fireball blew from my mouth right at my opponent.

"Water style: Water wall!" I heard him shout out just before my fireball hit him.

The collision of both jutsu caused an explosion of steam to cloud my vision. I created three two shadow clones who each used a wind jutsu to clear the steam before dispelling themselves.

My opponent was standing across from me, going through a series of hand seals. I immediately started on my own and finished just as he finished his.

"Water style: water bullets!" He called out, multiple water bullets leaving his mouth aimed right for me.

"Lightning style: Lightning strike!" I yelled out, throwing a small ball of lightning at him.

My jutsu collided with the first water bullet then proceed to jump to the others before going right to him. At the last moment he dodge and then ran at me.

Lightning style: Amp!

I charged lightning through my body, ready for another round of taijutsu. He came at me with his fist aimed for my face. Instead of dodging I sent my fist out to meet his, the lightning burning through my body giving me the boost I needed to match his strength.

Out fists met with a thump that I felt all through my body and could immediately tell my hand was broken but there was nothing I could do about it now.

The regret for this poor decision is immense.

The expression on his face gave away that he must have also gotten hurt and he seemed to be holding back with his right arm which was the one I had hit before. I drew my fist back and threw a punch aimed for his head but he simply ducked and countered with a punch that hit me right in the chest. The breath was knocked out of me and he used my moment of weakness to kick me in the head, sending me to the floor.

I laid motionless for a moment on the floor, trying to gather my bearing when my senses started to scream at myself to move. I rolled to the side just in time to avoid an axe kick that cracked the ground slightly. I jumped up off the floor and went through some hand seals again while I backpedaled to give myself some room.

"Lightning style: Lightning bolt!" I yelled out as a bolt of chakra laced lightning was thrown from my hand. He was too close to dodge, hitting him right in the chest causing him to freeze up. I used that moment to chanel as much lightning chakra through my body as I possibly could, the pain of it becoming a very real distraction.

Lightning hand!

I shot forward, my hand encased in lightning and aimed right for his throat. He watched as I came in for the kill, his eyes wide with fear as he stood there unable to move. I looked him dead in the eyes as I stopped with my hand merely touching his throat and giving him another shock.

"Dead." I stated simply, panting from exhaustion. This fight was hard. I stopped channeling my lightning chakra and the difference was almost immediate. The pain was near debilitating, but I held myself together long enough for them to declare me the victor.

With the last of my willpower I channeled some chakra through my body to numb the pain and walked out through the gate I had entered. I could feel the healing seals actively working to numb the pain and fix what they could but it was all I could do to keep on walking. By the time I made it to the courtyard I was dead on my feet. Ashina was waiting for me and picked me up before I even had a chance to collapse.

"Rest kid, you deserve it." He said softly. I closed my eyes and was asleep instantly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I slowly woke up, quickly realizing I was in the infirmary. My eyes slowly opened themselves but closed due to the bright lights. It took a few more minutes until my eyes adjusted enough to do a visual inspection of myself and my surroundings.

I had a cast on my right hand with my other hand being wrapped but the rest of me seemed normal. I felt some pain from my hands and my body ached a bit but overall I was feeling pretty good.

"I see you're awake now." I heard Ashina say as he made his way over to me.

"It would appear that I am." I replied. He smiled at my smartass response.

"Congratulations on your win, two wins in a row is a good place to be for your first two fights." He said.

"Yeah well I still have the issue of how taxing and painful channeling my lightning chakra is. The costs realistically out way it's benefits. I was just lucky that it worked out for me. I can't fight for very long if my techniques hurt me as much as they help." I said slightly angry and annoyed.

"We can work on that in due time. But for now it is building your pain tolerance so just toughen up a bit. It's unlikely that your life will be on the line in any of your next few matches so you got some time to train." He informed me smoothly.

It seemed a bit cold of him but at the same time it put things into perspective for me. He's been through all this before so he knows the likelihood of anything happening. I've never been through something like this; it was time for me to toughen up and push through or I would die.

"Thank you Ashina for everything." I said after a few moments of silence.

"Don't thank me yet kid. First let's figure out how to properly channel your chakra nature through your body and then you can thank me. Considering this is even harder than what tsunade senju does with her super strength I would say we are a long time away from being able to celebrate anything." He stated flatly.

"Then there is no use sitting around, let's get started." I replied with a smirk on my face.

"Eager to get started are we?" Ashina questioned chuckling.

"More like eager to die but who's keeping track of things like that." I said sarcastically. Ashina let out a small worried chuckle

I made my way out of the bed and did a few stretches to get a feel for my condition. My muscles felt a bit tight but overall it wasn't too bad. We made our way out of the infirmary and back to our room which meant that it must have been late in the evening.

I sat down on my sleeping mat and started to meditate. There wasn't much to do besides sleep and meditation always made me feel better. It wasn't long before I opened my eyes and realised I had fallen asleep and it was already morning.

I stood up and stretched, yawning the sleep from my mind.

"How does it feel to sleep when you meditate?" Ashina asked suddenly, breaking the silence. It wasn't the first time I had fallen asleep while meditating but it was the longest I had been asleep before. Usually I woke up, at most, a few hours later feeling well rested but this time it was all through the night.

"It doesn't really feel like anything. The longer i've practiced meditation and working in using natural energy, the more intune I become with myself and the world around me. It's like a peaceful song that only I can ever hear. It's something I can't quite describe with words, something you really have to experience to understand." I said thinking back on all the time I've spent meditating. It was definitely something I enjoyed to do the more I did it and I didn't understand why until just now.

It's weird how explaining it opened my eyes to why I liked to meditate when it was something I couldn't bring myself to do in my last life.

"Interesting." Was all Ashina said.

The next week went by slow, my training was toned down to give time for my hand to heal. I may have been about to heal faster with my new seals and boosts from the small bits of natural energy I get but it still took time to heal broken bones. By the end of the week I was back full force, training myself to exhaustion and beyond. Ashina started to increase the difficulty of my training by the day, forcing me to get better through the continuous beatdowns he gave me in spars and focusing on fine tuning my fighting style with my polearm while also increasing my endurace as much as possible. Through all my physical training I had my clones training with my chakra, focusing on perfecting each and every technique I had available to me while also working on my chakra control. It was exhausting and I never made it to my sleeping matt before I passed out but each day I felt stronger than the last. Over time I realised that the longer I was there, the more I forgot about who I used to be. It was a scary thing to wake up one day and you can't even remember where you came from. I always had this self sense of pride that I knew who I was and stuck by my words. I lived by a code and it's a scary thought to wake up one day and not remember it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

**1 year later**

I was in the area once again, having gone an entire year since my last fight. It was a rare occurrence but clearly whoever was dictating things wanted me to get in lots of training before I fought again. My opponent this time was a guy in his mid teens, somewhere around sixteen or seventeen if I had to guess.

My hands shook as we silently stood across from each other. The nervousness that I had before my last fights hadn't gone away yet. If I was to win this fight I had to calm down.

My hand gripped my polearm tightly as I lifted it from my shoulder and slammed the but end on the ground. The familiar thump of it hitting the ground set me just a tad more at ease. I let my eyes close and tried to still my body, so I could go into a standing meditative stance and bring in a small bit of natural energy. At first I couldn't stop snaking from fear and nervousness but after a minutes or so I managed to stop moving.

Within a moment I could feel my opponent more clearly than I could see him. His chakra was controlled, calm, and powerful. Confidence poured from his being without being accompanied by arrogance. This made my nerves act up more but I pushed aside those feelings. I purged all stray thoughts from my mind to solely focus on this fight. If I didn't give my all I would die. There was no backing down, no second chances if I failed.

This is where I will rise up in victory or fall down in defeat. It's do or die with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

My eyes snapped open when I heard the crowd quite down. My right foot shifted back, left arm out, right hand firmly grasping my weapon with the shaft resting against the back of my shoulder and the blade pointed towards the floor. I was in my ready stance just as the match was started.

"Lets dance mother fucker." I taunted.

My opponent came at me instantly with a sword about three feet long. It came down in an overhead slash that I stepped back to avoid while bringing my blade to bear with an upward slash. He quickly sidestepped my slash and came at me again. I used the momentum of my weapon to twirl it around and parry his slash.

The most important part of my style is to be able to redirect my opponents weapons and quickly counter. It was of similar style to my taijutsu, primarily reactionary like say the uchihas interpreter fist but better and didn't require their dojutsu.

Each slash or stab that came my way was redirected but it quickly became evident he was more skilled than me. I had multiple cuts already from many parrys that came to late or being too slow to fully dodge.

I took a step back and brought the shaft down to parry a slash then followed up by bringing my weapon down on his arm. Unfortunately my gripped slipped slightly making me overreach. That mistake was quickly taken advantage of and before I realised it I was unarmed and sent flying into the arena walls. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs and had my head spinning. It took me a moment to get my bearing and breath back but when I did I noticed a lethal wave of water heading right for me.

Just before it hit I brought my hands up and a barrier of pure chakra spring to life. The impact jarred my arms, cracked the barrier, and had me straining to keep it up but it didn't break. When the water stopped coming I took a moment to survey my surroundings and catch my breath. Apparently my opponent wasn't expecting me to have survived his attack because his face showed all kinds of surprise.

"That all you got? I've seen trees more threatening than you!" I shouted out with a smile on my face, a small trail of blood dripping from the corner of my mouth.

I really should stop taking enjoyment from my horrible insults.

I took a few steps from the wall and waited for him to come to me. I did enjoy using my polearm but I didn't have quite the talent I had when in hand to hand combat. This time when he came at me I was more prepared and much more skilled in my movements.

I drew two small knives from the small of my back and held them in an ice pick grip. He came at me with a slash to my midsection that I parried. Before I could counter his sword was coming back for a slash to my legs that I jumped over then ducked under the follow up slash to my head.

He came at me relentlessly, not giving me any opportunity to attack. But that's ok because my style was more reactionary than anything.

It was a few minutes after he first started to attack me that I started to set up a plan. I side stepped a thrust, used the knife in my right hand to push his weapon wide, and then countered with a slash to his side in the same motion.

This move left my side open which he tried to take advantage of but I was already moving. I put up a flimsy block with my left hand that sent my knife flying high into the air but stopped the attack. I pushed off the ground the used the wall to my back to launch a kick at my opponent that connected squarely with his chest and forced him back.

He recovered quickly and tried to slash down at me but my foot connected with his wrist and forced him to let go of his weapon. As it fell I used my momentum to lunch it at him with a kick. He dodged to the side then did a leg sweep that I flipped over and as I was coming down I channeled lightning chakra to the heel of my foot that transferred to my airborne knife and sent it flying right for him. It was so fast he had little time to dodge and ended up with a nasty cut across the side of his ribs. As I landed I was already channeling lightning chakra to my other knife and launched it just as my feet hit the floor.

He was caught off guard and was once again unable to fully dodge my attack which gave him another nasty gash on his face.

After that move I had to take a moment to catch my breath. The amount of chakra and control I had put into the mast few moves along with making a barrier or chakra earlier was extremely taxing. I was panting hard, trying to get my breathing in control to continue this fight.

"You know kid, your pretty good, I clearly underestimated you. But I think now it's time I take this fight seriously. Don't take it personally, but you won't be leaving here alive."

Well this is going to hurt.

He launched himself at me with renewed vigor, his speed easily doubled what it was before. I ducked his initial kick to my head but had to block his follow up. Even with enhancing my limbs with chakra i was barely able to hold up.

His strength quickly outmatched mine, forcing me to use chakra to block and dodge his attacks. A quick combo of punches and kicks sent me flying back and i was forced to hastily put up a chakra barrier to try and block his water jutsu. My barrier merely slowed down his attack which sent me right into the wall with near bone crushing force.

My head was spinning and it was a fight to stay conscious. Vaguely I could hear the soft pattering of my opponent's feet as he walked over to my downed form. I knew I wasn't going to live so it was time for one last move, if I wasn't going to live, neither was he.

"You were a worthy opponent, but unfortunately for you, your life ends here. Such a shame really, you hold so much potential." He stated, looking down on my with pity in his eyes.

"Any last words?" He asked me, his sword read to end my life.

"Yeah, see you in hell." I spit out.

He raised an eyebrow before he felt the amount of chakra I started to release. His sword went through my chest but it was already too late.

"Check mate." I muttered with a bloody smile.

There was a flash of pain as I released all my chakra in a violent explosion. Then nothing…

**A/N: So for those of you who have reached this far, thanks for reading, I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Im sorry its taken so long to post another chapter but I couldnt decide how I wantes this one to end and then life caught up with me for a while. But anyways I do have some plans for this story and it will be very lengthy. If you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to leave a comment or pm me directly, im open to ideas and criticism.**

**Hope yall all have a good one my friends, Wilson out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

****

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

_There was so much pain, violence, hate… All these negative emotions washing over me, trying to overwhelm me and nearly succeeding. It was an ocean of emotions and sensations that were threatening to drown me. My body was being thrown around like a rag doll, the violent waves beating at me mercilessly, but I would survive because that is what I do. _

_There is nothing else to do but look forward. Remember the past, live in the present, and expect the future. And it all came back to me suddenly, who I was, what I was. _

There I was once again, standing at the edge of time and space. But this time there was no judgement, no acceptance nor moment of passion. It was just death, here to collect my soul because I had not earned my way this time. I made a mistake and now he was here to collect.

I looked up at the god of death, his form ever imposing, filling me with fear and dread at what's to come. Panic starting to set in right after, making even harder to calm down and get control of myself. But as these emotions started to overwhelm me, a question ran through my head that brought with it memories of times long past. This question wasn't just a question, it was a statement, a decree, and a promise made by every soldier who has uttered the words in the face of death.

_"_What do we say to the god of death" I asked.

I received no answer but felt the pressure and pull upon my soul increase exponentially by the second. A battle of wills had begun that I had no hope of winning. I looked the god dead in the eyes, all my fear, dread, and panic vanishing from my body as I gazed into the endless pits of hell.

_"Not today." _And then everything turned black.

The veil of unconsciousness slowly lifted as feeling started to come to my body. I was a bit uncomfortable and it sounded like someone was shouting.

"Could ya quiet down please, your going to make my ears start bleeding." I said raising my head from the desk I now know it was on. A yawn escaped my lips as I rubbed my eyes into focus.

One hand shot out and caught the object heading for my head while the other one continued to rub my face. I looked over the object to realise it was a piece of chalk. Suddenly there was another one heading for my face so I sent the piece I had in hand to intercept it. The collision caused both pieces to explode, covering the surrounding kids in chalk dust. I ignored the cries of anger from the now chalk covered kids as I tried to figure out where the fuck I was. There were a lot of details that gave me a clue but when I looked out the window and saw the four faces carved into the side of a cliff side I knew exactly where I was. Now I guess the question is am I the same as before and do I have the same gifts?

I stood up suddenly and started to walk out of the room, ignoring everyone who was questioning me including the teacher. I took a step to the side to avoid getting grabbed by the teacher while continuing on my way, lost in my thoughts about what to do.

I stopped for a moment and took a look at my reflection in a window. My black and red hair exactly like I remembered it.

_So I am myself, except in some alternate reality where I was not taken at an early age. _

I continued on my way, now having to put more focus into dodging the teachers who were trying to capture me. Before I knew it, I had at least a dozen people chasing my through the village, with at least half of them clearly aiming to do more than simply capture me. I jumped over a kick and suddenly my danger sense kicked in, three kunai headed right for me that I was not unable to dodge. Just as I thought I was going to get hit my instincts kicked in and a solid chakra shield appeared, blocking one of the kunai and deflecting the other into the third.

The moment my feet hit the floor a wave of agonizing pain flooded my head. Instincts kicked in but I was unable to move as a water jutsu crashed into me, sending me into a wall. I hardly noticed the pain because the agony in my head took up my entire focus. Thankfully after a few more moments the pain started to ebb away till it was at a strong headache.

I looked up to see that I was now surrounded, a masked ninja standing directly above me.

"What is going on Arakan?" One asked.

I looked up at them and paused to take in the sudden influx of memories that accompanied the pain," I remember." I stated before everything went black.

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

I let out a groan as I slowly regained consciousness, getting irritated by the steady dripping of water from wherever it was coming. As my eyes opened I immediately noticed that I was not in kansas anymore. Face first in a sewer that didn't smell and water that didn't get me wet was incredibly suspicious. I quickly got up and took a good look around at my surroundings. The celine was shrouded in darkness but there seemed to be this faint glowing coming from the pipes on the walls giving enough light to see.

I walked over and put my hand on one of the smaller pipes. The moment my hand touched it I felt the energy inside, feeling oh so familiar and comforting.

_That my chakra_.

I drew on the chakra in the pipe and felt the flow shift along with some of it bleed through the metal and into my hands.

_There is only one place I could be but that doesn't make sense because Ashina always said only jinchuuriki have a mind scape that can be physically used. A byproduct of the seal used to contain the demon they hold. So if this exists where the fuck is the demon? _

I wandered down the empty sewer walls, going through the memories of the life that I never lived. It didn't take me long to realise why my mindscape was represented as a sewer and it was at that moment when I realised I knew how to find the demon. All the hate, resentment, sadness, and despair that was bottled up inside me had to go somewhere. So I followed these feelings until I found myself standing before two massive gates with the kanji for seal holding them closed.

I could feel the demons chakra, it's potency incredibly strong even when it was not actively projecting it.

"So, you going to introduce yourself or am I interrupting your alone time?" I asked casually.

From the darkness one massive eye opened followed by another, then there was movement until I saw the beast raising to its full height as it approached the bars. As I stood there, watching this demon approach the bars of gates, I noticed he was observing me.

_He isn't just observing be, no he is scrutinizing me. Seeing my reaction to his full form. And now I can feel him projecting his hate filled chakra onto me. _

The demons chakra was near suffocating, making me feel as if my death was imminent and inevitable.

_He's testing me, seeing how I will react to its presence._

My own chakra hummed and glowed as I brought it forth, using it to calm myself first. I could see the red chakra of the demon leaking through the gates so I used my chakra to capture it, trying to absorb it into myself. The potency and nature of his chakra was too strong to be absorbed, at least for now, so I gave up on that endeavor.

_Because this demon is no mere beast. He is smart, he clearly has a mind of his own and an intelligence that is far from normal. He is trying to use his chakra to surround me and overwhelm me, probably to drive me insane. _

"You are no mere beast as I have been told. You're too smart for that. I can see it in your eyes and actions. Now can you enlighten me as to who you are?" I asked.

He huffed in response, pausing for a moment to think about his response. When he did speak the deep baritone of his voice seemed to vibrate my very soul.

**"I am the great Kyuubi, the greatest of all the tailed beasts you worthless human. Now what do you want?"** He asked with a sneer.

"From you? Nothing, at least not right now." I stated.

**"You lie, all you humans lie. Now get to the point of why you're here before I wipe your sorry soul from existence."** He stated angrily.

Another wave of demonic chakra was thrown at me, sending me to my knees as I did my best to cope. It took me a few minutes before I was able to stop panting from the effort it took to simply stay conscious.

**"See how weak you are? I could destroy your very existence with a mere thought. Now tell me little human, what is it you seek before I drive you to insanity and then rip you apart."** He growled.

I mulled over my thoughts for a few minutes, trying to think about what I wanted to say. Another wave of chakra came at me but this time I was prepared and immediately countered with my own. There was a small explosion that sent me skidding back as our chakras fought for dominance with it ending in a stalemate.

"There is something I want from you. I want to understand who you are and I want you to understand who I am." I said panting. It took a significant portion of my chakra to be able counter the kyuubi's chakra.

Before the kyuubi could say anything else there was suddenly another presence standing behind me. I turned around to see an uchiha, their sharingan a strange pattern swirling in their eyes, arms crossed and a stern look on his face.

"Yo, you're kinda interrupting our conversation here." I said slightly annoyed.

He ignored me in favor of looking right at the kyuubi. The kyuubi on the other hand was now thrown into a rage, trying his all to break free from his cage causing me to have to use my chakra to protect us. Suddenly I felt a spike of chakra from the uchiha before kyuubi stopped moving, eyes now reflecting the sharingan.

"Yeah that's not ok. No pick eyed motherfucker is going to control the demon inside of me, that's my job." I stated firmly. I gathered up every bit of chakra I had then released it in a single burst.

The presence from my mind dispersed and kyuubi broke free from the genjutsu that had taken hold.

I looked at him in the eyes as I spoke," Dont worry my friend, no uchiha will control you while I am here." I smiled up at him before I left my mind scape.

My eyes opened on their own accord, the light blinding me for a moment and the sudden awakening leaving me disoriented. The exhaustion of using all my chakra hit me like a bus followed shortly by the pain of the kyuubi's chakra that was slowly eating away at my insides. I let out a small groan of pain as the agony that was my organs slowly melting was thankfully starting to go numb. I blinked my eyes and tried to get myself oriented into reality as my body ran on the remnants of the kyuubi's chakra that was slowly eating away at me from the inside. Every bit of pain was followed by numbness as my nervous system slowly shut down. Once I was able to focus I noticed that there were multiple people in the room all looking at me.

Standing in front of me though, was the uchiha who had been in my mind and put the kyuubi in a genjutsu.

"Hey motherfucker, you try that shit again and we are going to have a fucking problem." I said seriously, my voice a bit hoarse.

The man seemed insulted and amused at the same time, a cocky smirk making its way to his previously serious one.

"What will you do if i did?" He asked curiously.

"Have you ever seen a watermelon implode?" I asked.

He raised a single eyebrow in a "really" gesture before nodding his head once, most likely just to see where this was going.

"Awesome cause that's completely irrelevant, I just wanted to know if y'all had watermelon here." I said. A spike of pain ran through my chest suddenly causing me to tense up and try to hold in the groan of pain.

The man just stood there shocked at the turn our conversation had taken. In the background I could hear a few people unable to contain their chuckling.

_God damn is it good to be me… Sometimes… Maybe not right now though… Yeah, very much sucks to be me right now..._

"Ok, so back to threatening you. Don't do that shit again or else." I said.

"Or else what." He asked dryly.

"Fuck if I know. Does it look like I plan that far ahead?" I asked.

The man just sweatdropped at that point, completely thrown off his game. The suppressed chuckling I heard turned to full blown laughter.

_God damn feels good to derail this entire interrogation. Hopefully I'll pass out soon enough and be done with this shit for now. Give myself some time to figure shit out._

I sat there in silence while the laughing people tried to get themselves together and the uchiha gathered his thoughts. I took this moment to really observe the people around me. The uchiha in front of me had short brown hair, going down to his jacket, some kind of vest that seemed to have lots of pockets and possible armor plating of some sort to protect his vitals. Under that he had a long sleeve blue shirt with a symbol on each shoulder. The symbol was the uchiha crest on top of a four point shuriken. He seemed to have some simple pants and an open front apron over his pants.

A coughing fit hit me suddenly with more spikes of pain in my chest. I could taste the blood that came out as I coughed which I did my best to hide. Not an easy task when tied to a chair.

The next person I noticed was a woman wearing a green haori, a blouse that showed off her ample cleavage, and some short pants with some sandals. She had long blond hair that was tied up into two ponytails and a diamond marking on her forehead. Based on her appearance and feeling I got from her she would be a medic. Her laughter died down some when she noticed my coughing, presumably noticing the bits of blood. She didn't say anything but was clearly paying more attention now, curious even if I had to guess.

Next to her was a tall man with extremely pale skin, golden snake like eyes, and a cocky smirk that made me want to punch him in the face. He too narrowed his eyes slightly once he noticed the blond woman take on a slightly more serious nature.

Standing by his side was a woman with deep red hair, tanned skin, and violet eyes. She had on a simple white blouse and black pants. She was clearly more emotional as she was laughing almost as hard as the last man.

There was only one person left in the room and just from his mere presence I could tell he was by far the strongest of them all. He wore a white and maroon robe, a white and maroon haori, and a large white and maroon diamond shaped hat on his head. Based on his presence and appearance I would guess he is the highest ranking person here. Out of everyone he was laughing the most, almost doubled over in his laughter.

Once everyone got a hold of themselves I finally spoke again.

"So uh, can you like untie me now? I'm really hungry and I'm pretty sure I missed lunch," I paused for a moment thinking about when I last ate." And breakfast too." My stomach growled then, backing up my claim.

"No." The uchiha stated simply.

"Cool, so yall are just gonna keep me here tied to this chair like the beast everyone thinks I am. Got it. Better continue on with the questions and shit then." I stated nonchalantly, the pain growing greater followed by more numbness. The goal was to try and play their emotions and by the looks of it, it was working.

_And now I can't feel my legs nor hands how wonderful._

The mood in the room just suddenly tanked at that statement. The laughter and amusement I had brought to the room was sucked out in an instant.

"Why were you talking to the kyuubi brat and how long have you known about it?" The busty blonde woman asked suddenly, seemily more curious about what was going on than my possible health condition.

"Well to start, I figured out about the kyuubi when I woke up in my mind." I stopped there to see if they understood what I meant. Only the uchiha and the robed guy seemed to understand.

"What do you mean by that brat?" She asked, angry that I knew something she didn't.

"Only jinchuuriki have a true mindscape Tsunade. How this brat knows about this though is quite strange." The Robed man stated, evidently curious as to the source of my knowledge.

"So when I woke up in my mindscape I was very much surprised and curious as to where I was. I had only a few options so I came to a conclusion and went looking for an answer. My answer came in the form of the kyuubi." I finished off my tale.

"So then why were you conversing with it?" The uchiha asked.

"Because the kyuubi is more than an it. He is more than a mere demon or beast." I stated.

"Get over yourself brat. The kyuubi is just a mindless beast that feasts upon death and destruction. Which brings up another question, how were you able to break the kyuubi from Fugaku's genjutsu and better yet, why?" She asked.

"The why part is easy. Like I stated before, the kyuubi is more than just a mindless beast. He has intelligence, just like you and I, along with feelings and wants. He doesn't deserve to be controlled like that so I wont ever allow it while he resides within me. The how is also easy enough. I drew upon every last bit of chakra along with some of the kyuubi's chakra and used it to get that mother fucker out of my mind and break the genjutsu." I said nodding my head towards the now named Fugaku.

"So if you used all your chakra how are you awake and functioning then?" Asked the snake eyes man with a raised eyebrow.

"My body is running on the bit of the kyuubi's chakra left in my system. It's slowly eating away at me from the inside causing lots of pain and slowly shutting down my body. I haven't been able to feel my legs the last few minutes." I stated, as everyone got worried and shocked expressions on their faces, I went into another coughing fit.

This time it was much more violent with a lot more blood coming out. Though even when I stopped coughing there was blood starting to pool in my mouth, spilling out past my lips and covering myself.

Tsunade immediately went into motion, pushing aside Fugaku and placing her palm on my chest while yelling at the others to release my bonds. I could feel the medical chakra enter my system as it started to combat the kyuubi's chakra.

"He's going into shock! His body is shutting down!" Tsunade yelled, her voice getting oddly quiet and the room dimmer.

"Sounds about right." I mumbled," probably why I can't feel my legs or arms anymore."

There was a bunch of frantic movement before I felt myself get picked up.

"Don't worry kid you will be ok."

As the world started to fade to black I saw the god of death hovering over me, ready to take my soul back to where it belonged. I looked up at the person carrying me, seeing the blurry image of the woman named Tsunade.

"What do we say… to the god of death…" I mumbled out as I let my whole body relax and the darkness take me away.

My eyes opened, consciousness came to me, and I took a massive breath. Everything hurt, I had no idea where I was, nor what was going on but I had one thing to say.

"Not today."

Consciousness came to me slowly. My sense all gently coaxing me awake with soft sounds, warm light, and the horrible toxic smell of chemicals. A small groan left my lips as feeling came back to my body, everything hurt way to much.

_Where's the damn rum when you need it._

I tried to open my eyes but the brightness of the room prevented that. It took me a few minutes for them to adjust and when they did I saw that I was in a hospital room of some sorts. I had a hospital gown on that made me feel rather naked in front of the other person in the room. They were leaning against the wall in the corner opposite the door. He was wearing dark blue pants and dark blue long sleeved shirt with some sandals on his feet and a green protective vest over the shirt. His long brown hair was mostly covered by a bandana that was tied in the front. He had this relaxed,almost lazy like air about him, the senbon in his mouth adding to the effect.

He hadn't said anything yet but he acknowledged that I was awake with a small nod.

I appreciated the silence. It gave me some time to collect my thoughts and figure out what the fuck was going on.

_I spent nearly twenty years fighting a war for a country full of people who hated what I represented, then died to protect their freedoms that allowed them to hate what I did. Then I get a second chance and again do nothing but train and fight for other people's entertainment. In the process of my last fight I die once again. And now here I am, with memories that are my own yet they are not._

_Im so lost with no purpose anymore, no team to keep alive, no drive to push me forward, no goal to reach, and no reason to really live outside of pure spite to death itself. _

_Im so fucking lost and confused! What the fuck do I do?_

I looked out the window, watching the various people come and go from the courtyard. Just watching them made me realise something. It made me feel like everything that I have done in the past was worth it. Because somehow, somewhere, there are other people who are alive right now because of the sacrifices I have made. It may be only one person, but even just that one person makes it worth it because at the end of the day, it was me who was chosen. It was me who stepped up to the plate to fight for something, whether it is for good or bad, I fought for a purpose.

Just looking out that window seemed to remind me why I fought in the past. And now it reminds me why I should fight on, in this life and all that may follow.

_So I know what to do now, to fight for those who cannot. That is my purpose once again. To fight… To protect the innocence of this world, to shield the masses from the horrors that reside in the reality that we choose to exist in. _

A smile came to my face as I came to a conclusion. Knowing how to move on from this complete shit show that was my life.

"Yo, think we can get some food? I'm starvin here." I asked, looking over at the man standing in the corner.

He looks at me for a moment before responding.

"Sure, I don't see why not." He walked over to my bedside and helped me up, holding onto me while I got out of bed and gained my footing. With some difficulty, I managed to change into some clothes he supplied me. Just some simple black pants, white shirt, and sandals.

"Let's get going, I know just the place to eat." He stated.

"So what's your name?" I asked as I followed him out of the hospital room.

"Genma. Shiranui Genma." He said lazily, the senbon in his mouth staying there even when it looked like it should fall.

"Nice to meet you, im Arakan." I replied back happily.

"I know kid." We walked in silence after that.

As we walked I noticed the looks I received from the people around me, thinking they were being subtle. Their whispers followed the looks, bringing more life to the disdain that they felt for me. Some were more subtle than others but at the end of the day there was hate in their hearts. Hate, anger, and grief all coming to a culmination that fed off their emotions and projected it onto me so that in their mind, those that they have lost are brought some kind of justice. But that was okay because I would shoulder their hate, take it all in stride and show them the way to move past it. I will become the legend that they believe would bring their salvation instead of their damnation.

We reached the restaurant after a few minutes of walking. It was a simple korean bbq place that had wonderful smelling food. We were led to a booth and before long I was stuffing my face full of food while genma watched, occasionally eating a few bits of meat. I was just finishing up with my meal when suddenly I heard some shooting outside before the woman named tsunade charged into the restaurant, making a b-line right for our table.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" She asked angrily, almost shouting in volume.

"Eating." We stated flatly, responding at the same time.

Behind her I saw a crowd of people just sweatdrop.

"That's not what I meant! What are you doing out of the hospital! I told you to watch him and make sure he didn't try to escape or leave the hospital Genma!" Tsunade shouted at him.

"I mean, he was hungry so I thought some fresh air would help while we got some chow." He stated simply but was visibly nervous about facing Tsunade's.

"And pray tell me, what made you think that was a good idea." She said with a sickly sweet smile.

"Uh, well.. You see... He asked to get some food because he was hungry and hospital food sucks so…" He trailed off at the end, clearly praying to whatever deity he believes in that he would survive the next few minutes.

Tsunade let out a resigned sigh, her anger suddenly gone. She looked between the two of us for a moment, contemplating something before sliding into the booth next to me. Her hand found its way to my back before the familiar feeling of medical chakra flowing through my body gave me pause. The soothing sensation eased some of the aches and pain I felt. I let out an involuntary sigh of relief.

"I suppose this wasn't such a bad idea but next time you have to talk to me first before you leave the hospital, got it?" she asked the both of us. Her undertone promising death if we did not agree.

Genma and I readily agreed.

"Good, and since this was your idea Genma, Arakan will be staying with you for the foreseeable future!" She said brightly.

"Wait what?" Genma asked in slight disbelief.

"Since you took it upon yourself to take Arakan out of the hospital without discharging him, I'm tasking you to watch over him for the next few weeks to make sure he recovers properly. You don't mind do you?" Tsunade asked with that sickly sweet smile of hers that promised death if you gave the wrong answer.

"Uh… No, of course not…" Genma replied nervously.

It didn't bother me in anyway. From the memories I had of this life, this would be an improvement from my current living quarters.

"Great! Now that that is settled I will be on my way. Take it easy for the next week Arakan and no training for at least two weeks. Oh and don't forget to stop by every day for your check up Arakan." Tsunade said as she left.

We sat there in silence for a few moments while the rest of the people in the restaurant went back to what they were doing.

"So, you need to grab anything from you place?" Genma asked, breaking the silence.

"Nah im good, I don't have much besides bare minimum basics and some clothes and those need replacing anyways." I replied.

We left the restaurant right after that, Genma leaving money on the table to pay for our meal. I made my way down the road with Genma in tow, catching me when I stumbled. It took me longer than I wanted to reach our destination and when we did I had to take a break. I was far from recovered. Once I was rested we headed into the shop, a simple shinobi supply and clothing store. A little bell jingled as we walked into the door.

I quickly found what I was looking for, a few sets of shirts and pants with a few other accessories to go along with the outfit. As I made my way towards the counter I passed through the weapon isle, stopping at a wall rack that held two unique looking kunai among other things. The blade was longer with two extra bladed edges at the base point out to act as a guard. I picked them up and immediately felt how good they felt in my hands. They were each the size of a small tanto in length and the hilt was a bit big for my hands but I knew I would grow into them.

"How do they feel?" Genma askes from behind me.

"Like they were made for me." I answered, twirling them in my hands as I turned to look at him. Genma had a wistful smile on his face, as if remembering something or someone long past.

"Good, let's checkout then." He stated.

I nodded my head and started to put them back before Genma stopped me.

"Keep em." He said before walking up to the counter. I paused there for a few moments before sheathing the two knives and walking over to Genma with them.

"Is that everything?" I heard the old man behind the counter say.

"And these too." I butted in, placing the sheathed knives on the counter. He looked at the knives then at me a few times, sizing me up it would seem.

"And why should I sell these to you?" He asked me after a few moments of silence.

"Because these knives were made for me." I stated definitively.

"Why?" He asked me.

"Why what?"

"Why were they made for you, out of the tens of thousands of people in this city. Out of the thousands of shinobi that call this place home. Out of the hundreds of people whose names will go down in history as heroes and legends, why you?"

"Because I believe that the only reason I am here is to do what no one else is able to do and bring peace to these lands. To fight the fights no one else is able to. To make sure that each soldier that leaves these walls makes it home to their families." I finished without any doubt in my being.

He picked up the knives and placed them in my hands, "Then prove it."

Genma paid after that and we left without a word, making our way to his place. Once we got there I collapsed on the couch, physically and emotionally exhausted.

"So what's up with you kid. You're nothing like you were a mere week before." Genma asked, sitting down in a chair opposite of me.

I stayed quiet for a few minutes, wondering what I should say. The only conclusion I came to unfortunately was to tell the truth.

"What do you believe happens when you die?" I asked, quietly.

"What?" He responded confused.

"What do you think happens to you, when you die?" I asked again.

"Well, I suppose I never really thought about it. But if I had to guess, I would say we get our final rest, no more fighting, no more death, no more suffering. Just eternal sleep." He said thoughtfully. I nodded my head at his answer.

"When you die, you go to a place where your final chapter comes to a close. You death is not the end, but your judgement just might be. It all depends on the person who you were, who you are at the core of your being. When I died, for the first time, I found myself standing at the edge of space and time and came to terms with everything that I had done in my life. All the good, all the bad, I accepted who I was in the end. And then I met a messenger of the gods, or 'the' god, or maybe just one of them, I'm not sure which really. But I was given a choice, have my final rest and reconnect with those long past or have a chance to live again. I chose to live again and was given a gift, along with a curse." I held each knife in my hand, pushing my chakra through them and feeling them resonate to my being. With a simple thought they disappeared only to reappear when I called them.

"For fifteen years I lived, I trained, and I fought. Only to forget who I was and when I died again, I was not ready. I looked death in the face as he tried to claim my soul but I fought, I was not done, I still felt like there was something I had to do. And so here I am, thrown into myself from another time, lost on the path of life, and not knowing how to proceed." I finished off solemnly.

Genma stayed quiet for a while, processing what I had just said. He opened his mouth multiple times to say something but no sound ever came out.

"So this is not your first life?" he asked for confirmation.

"No."

"Were you born here before?"

"Once."

"So this is your second life here, in this world?"

"Yes, first I was a soldier in a land very different than here. The second was here, in a time very different than now. The third being now, in a land so different to me." I answered.

"So what is it you have to do?"

"I don't know but ill find out one day and I hope I'm prepared for when I do."

**A/N: So for all of those who were actually waiting for this chapter, I would like to apologize for how long it took to write it out. A lot of stuff was going on and i went through for different drafts till I came to the one I liked. But regardless I hope y'all enjoyed that chapter. Next one should be out much sooner than it took this one to be done. If you have any feedback I'd be happy to hear it. You can leave a comment or message me directly, either works. Other than that hope y'all have a good one. **


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